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Space Telescope

TESS

OperationalSpace TelescopeHEO

Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a space telescope for NASA's Explorer program, designed to search for exoplanets using the transit method in an area 400 times larger than that covered by the Kepler mission. It was launched on 18 April 2018, atop a Falcon 9 launch vehicle and was placed into a highly elliptical 13.70-day orbit around the Earth. The first light image from TESS was taken on 7 August 2018, and released publicly on 17 September 2018.

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Launch

Launch date
April 18, 2018 at 10:51 PM UTC
Launch site
Cape Canaveral SFS, USA
Launched by
Falcon 9 Block 4 →
Operator
SpaceX
Mission
TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)
Launch record
View full launch →

Orbit

Orbit regime
HEO
Apoapsis
354,239 km
Periapsis
115,524 km
Inclination
56.81°
Orbital period
19655.63 min

Spacecraft

Operator
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Manufacturer
NASA/MIT
Users
Government
Launch mass
362 kg
Design lifetime
20 years

Identity

COSPAR (Int'l)
2018-038A
NORAD catalog №
43435
Object type
Payload
Owner / operator
United StatesUnited States
Status
Operational